§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances sufferers of Parkinson's disease are exempted from paying prescription charges; and what plans he has to change these criteria. [139281]
§ Ms StuartPeople suffering from Parkinson's disease are entitled to free prescriptions if they are aged 60 or over, are suffering from an exempting medical condition (Parkinson's disease itself is not an exempting condition) or they (or their partner) are receiving income support, income based jobseeker's allowance or tax credits (with
Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs)1 by all Operation Count of Episodes Walsgrave Hospitals NHS Trust 1996–97 to 1998–99 OPCS4R Codes used Operation 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 C71-C72, C74-C75 Cataract removal 1,951 1,569 1,995 W40-W42 Knee joint replacement 123 113 213 W37-W39, W46-W48 Hip joint replacements 261 251 414 T19-T21 Hernia 520 549 692 1 An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provided. Note:
1. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within a year.
2. These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the procedure was mentioned in any of the four operation fields in the HES data set.
3. The data in the table have not been adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) Department of Health
208Wtheir maximum credit reduced by £70 or less per week). They may also claim for help under the NHS Low Income Scheme. We have no plans to review these arrangements.